Raking And Bagging Leaves

While having a yard that’s covered in a layer of gold, orange, and red leaves can be a very pretty sight to behold, you will want to clear away those leaves once those colors turn to brown. If you decide to just keep the leaves around, those leaves can block sunlight from reaching your grass, resulting in bare patches or even dead spots. While you can rake up your leaves as soon as they start to fall off, it’s best to wait until most of them have fallen off the tree, if only to maximize the natural beauty of a multicolored yard and to minimize the number of times you’ll need to rake up those leaves within a given year.

When going about the task of clearing up your yard of all those leaves, it’s important to remember that there is more than one approach, one tool, to consider for the job:

Rake: The rake is the simplest of yard maintenance tools. When working with a rake, it’s important that you use your hips and your arms to get the most use. You do not want to simply bend forward and drag the leaves as you pull the rake toward yourself; doing so with a loaded yard is only going to take more time and will take a toll on your back. By “sweeping” your rake in the same manner as using a broom, you maximize your efficiency and get a cardio workout at the same time. One other element in the rake’s favor is that, being entirely a “manual” device, it is also the quietest of the tools you can utilize in clearing your yard.

Leaf Blower: A leaf blower offers more pros than it does cons. While it is considerably louder than a rake, it can clear a yard in a fraction of the time that it would take for one person with a rake to clear. A leaf blower has the added benefit of being less abrasive around flower beds, compared to the repeated blows inherent in raking around them.

Cordless Sweeper: A cordless sweeper is the best tool to use when you need to clear away leaves that have fallen onto hard surfaces like driveways, decks, and patios.

Vacuum Attachment: This particular took is worth considering, if only for being the most efficient at bagging all the leaves you are clearing away. While the tools mentioned earlier are all fine for raking up leaves into a neat pile, you will still need to pick up your piles of leaves and bag them. A vacuum attachment not only clears your yard of leaves, but it also comes with its own attachable bag.

Whether you intend to simply bag up your leaves for waste management to pick up, or you intend to use them in your composting efforts, clearing away leaves is an easy, simple matter when you make use of the proper equipment.